


A wish, offered with blood, is a prayer to the Darkness

by valantha



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Black Jewels - Anne Bishop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Black Jewels Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fusion, First Meetings, Gen, Team Assembling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-03-15
Packaged: 2018-01-15 20:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1318048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valantha/pseuds/valantha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye, a young Summer-sky Jeweled Queen allows herself to be captured by two Warlord Princes - the demon-dead Prince Coulson and the Gray Jeweled Prince Ward - for only they had the power and connections to find out who she really was and where she came from.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A wish, offered with blood, is a prayer to the Darkness

Skye calmed her breathing and attempted to don the mask of a well-put-together Queen. Miles’ voice in the back of her mind soothed her, *Remember, you _wanted_ to be found by these men. Only they have the borrowed power to see you through your Offering to the Darkness. Only they have the connections to find out where you came from.*

Skye glared haughtily from her hidey-hole and examined the two Warlord Princes before her. The younger of the two men proudly displayed his Gray Jewel and his psychic scent simply screamed Warlord Prince. His tanned skin, golden eyes, and ebon hair proclaimed he was of one of the long-lived races, Hayllian or Dhemlan, she couldn’t tell.

The elder of the men smelled like Death. He must be demon-dead.  Though his psychic scent was masked, Skye was still able to detect a hint of competency and trust-worthiness from the man.  His blue eyes and pale skin indicated he was not of one of the long-lived races, and he wore a Sapphire Jewel. Skye did not know if that was his Birthright Jewel or his jewel of rank, but the Gray Jewel Warlord Prince clearly deferred to him.

The two Princes allowed her to get a read on them before they gave the Protocol-dictated bow of Warlord Prince to lighter-Jewel Queen and the demon-dead Warlord Prince introduced them, “I’m Prince Coulson and this is Prince Ward, we would like you to come with us.”

Skye knew this was merely the suggestion of a choice, after the amount of rabble-rousing she’d done with the landens they wouldn’t really let her go, regardless of her caste, but she nodded, “I’m Skye.”

Skye left the little cabin that had been her home for the past two months and Craft-locked it behind her. It was only a Summer-sky lock, but she had certain Craft-skills and even someone with the power of the Gray would have difficulty unraveling her locks, she thought with pride.

* * *

Skye followed the taciturn yet polite Warlord Princes to a Web Coach and was startled when an Eyrien witch backwinged to land beside them. She was clad in a black leather vest and pants, which only highlighted her golden skin and gorgeous wings. The two Princes hardly gave her a glance, which indicated she was with them, but Skye hadn’t sensed her at all.

The witch seemed to note her discomfort, and with an infinitesimal twitch of the corner of her mouth she said, “It’s a skill I have.”

Skye and the two Warlord Princes boarded the Coach while the witch drove. Skye was a little disappointed, she wasn’t able to get a read on the witch’s strength and was hoping for a bit more time to tease it out of her iron fortress-like psychic scent.

The two Warlord Princes began to drowse and Skye was bored. No matter how skilled or strong they were, no one could communicate via psychic threads while traveling the Webs, and these two Warlord Princes seemed to be all work and no chat.

Skye sighed and called in her knitting. Knitting was boring, but less boring than doing nothing (which she could not abide, so she always had some with her.

* * *

The two Warlord Princes woke up a few minutes before the Coach arrived at it destination. The witch – who still was a mystery wrapped in an enigma – must have woken them up.

Immediately prior to landing, the demon-dead Prince – Coulson – bound her hands with phantom restraints. He shrugged apologetically and nodded to the Grey Jeweled Prince – Ward – who grabbed her shoulder and frog marched her out of the Coach and towards a surprisingly nondescript manor.

After the slightest hint of a tour, Ward pushed her into an archetypal interrogation chamber, complete with psychic and aural shields. Skye settled into one of the chairs and wished they hadn’t confiscated her knitting and hoped they weren’t going to make her stew for too long.

After maybe a candlemark, Skye huffed, "Bored now," and settled down on the floor for a nap. She wished she could set up a jangle-shield, but would just have to trust a bit instead.

* * *

 “Queen Skye?” Coulson called.

Skye woke instantly from her nap and saw that the two Warlord Princes remained at the door. She took advantage of the crack in the psychic shield to use a bit of hearthcraft to tidy her clothes and hair.

The demon-dead Prince grinned at her sass while Ward just glowered.

Sadly, Prince Ward took point on the interrogation, and man did he _not_ have a sense of humor. But after several puns and jokes fell completely flat, Skye learned that they needed her help to resolve the issue with the landens she triggered, and the ball was now in her court.

After the _unconventional_ use of a truth potion on Prince Ward, Skye allowed herself to be drawn to their side. Miles’ convoluted plan seemed to be working perfectly, and the Prince who smelled like Death was certainly a character.

* * *

Coulson introduced her to the rest of his team. The Eyrien witch was named May and she wore the Green and there were two others, Healer Simmons and Prince Fitz.

They both wore Opal Jewels and their psychic scents were so… entwined that it was hard to tell them apart. Skye had never detected that level of psychic synchronicity before, not even on couples from long-lived races that had been together for tens of thousands of years. And these two weren’t long-lived, nor was Fitz Simmons’ consort. It was bizarre.

* * *

The odd assortment of Blood seemed to work well together, and they easily smoothed the disturbance Skye caused among the landens. Coulson wanted to bring her into his team permanently and Skye found herself at the center of a Court, a true Court, forming around _her_.

It wasn’t quite a full Court yet. She hadn’t made her Offering to the Darkness yet, nor found a Consort (she was hoping to bring Miles in for that position), but Coulson was her Steward and Ward (who did actually have a well-hidden sense of humor) was her Master of the Guard. May was Ward’s right-hand woman, and Fitzsimmons were First Circle. Skye maintained the slightest of contacts with Miles while she tried to figure out her place on the team.

Simmons had the gentle heart of a Healer and Fitz, as ‘merely’ a Prince, was more even-tempered than the two Warlord Princes, so Skye found herself seeking out their company regularly. The two Opal-Jeweled Blood seemed to revel in Craftwork nearly as much as Skye did, but their areas of focus were different. Skye professed to extraordinary skill in making and breaking locks and shields (and did not admit to phenomenal skills in psychic communication) while Fitz reveled in shield and detection Craft, and Simmons reveled in Healing.

Skye was well on her way to finding out who she was and where she came from. Perhaps the mystery of her parentage and mixed-bloodline would be solved soon.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a Black Jewels Fusion, and as such the characters exist in a world of Craft and Blood and castes and Jewel ranking all weaving together to make a complex hierarchy. 
> 
> Skye: Summer-sky Jeweled Queen  
> Coulson: Sapphire Jeweled demon-dead Warlord Prince  
> Ward: Grey Jeweled Warlord Prince  
> May: Green Jeweled Eyrien witch  
> Fitz: Opal Jeweled Prince  
> Simmons: Opal Jeweled Healer
> 
>  **Castes:**  
>  Male:  
> landen — non-Blood of any race  
> Warlord — a Jeweled male equal in status to a witch  
> Prince — a Jeweled male equal in status to a Priestess or a Healer  
> Warlord Prince — a dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male; in status, slightly lower than a Queen
> 
> Female:  
> landen — non-Blood of any race  
> witch — a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn’t one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female  
> Healer — a witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses; equal in status to a Priestess and a Prince  
> Priestess — a witch who cares for altars, Sanctuaries and Dark Altars; witnesses handfasts and marriages; performs offerings; equal in status to a Healer and a Prince  
> Black Widow — a witch who heals the mind; weaves the tangled webs of dreams and visions; is trained in illusions and poisons  
> Queen — a witch who rules the Blood; is considered to be the land’s heart and the Blood’s moral center; as such, she is the focal point of their society
> 
>  **Jewels:**  
>  White  
> Yellow  
> Tiger Eye  
> Rose  
> Summer-sky  
> Purple Dusk  
> Opal*  
> Green  
> Sapphire  
> Red  
> Gray  
> Ebon-gray  
> Black
> 
> *Opal is the dividing line between lighter and darker Jewels because it can be either. 
> 
> When making the Offering to the Darkness, a person can descend a maximum of three ranks from his/her Birthright Jewel.
> 
>  
> 
> Demon-dead: If the person has enough strength and willpower, phyiscal body can die while their mind and soul will continue to live on in it. The demon-dead retain any wounds inflicted upon death, and they must consume Yarbarah or blood to continue to survive.
> 
> Eyrien: One of the three long-lived races (~50,000 years). Shares the golden-brown skin, black hair, gold eyes of the other long-lived races, has awesome membraneous (bat-like) wings


End file.
